The outbreak of the economic, social, and political crisis
is affecting education at a global scale. The crisis, in tandem with the
dominant neoliberal and neoconservative politics that are implemented and
promoted internationally as the only solution, redefine the sociopolitical and
ideological role of education. Public education is shrinking. It loses its
status as a social right. It is projected as a mere commodity for sale while it
becomes less democratic and critical.

Understanding the causes of the crisis, the special forms it
takes in different countries and the multiple ways in which it influences
education, constitutes important questions for all those who do not limit their
perspectives to the horizon of neoconservative, neoliberal and technocratic
dogmas. Moreover, the critical education movement has the responsibility to
rethink its views and practices in light of the crisis as well as the paths
that this crisis opens for challenging and overthrowing capitalist domination
worldwide.

The International Conference on Critical Education, which
was held in Athens in 2011 and 2012 and Ankara in 2013, provides a platform for
scholars, educators, activists and others interested in the subject to come
together and engage in a free, democratic and productive dialogue. At a time of
crisis when public education is under siege by neoliberalism and
neoconservatism, we invite you to submit a proposal and to attend the IV
International Conference on Critical Education to reflect on the theory and
practice of critical education and to contribute to the field.

Keynote Speakers:

Ayhan Ural (Gazi
University, Turkey)

Dave Hill (AngliaRuskinUniversity,
Chelmsford, UK)

George Grollios (AristotleUniversity of Thessaloniki,
Greece)

Glenn Rikowski (Flow of Ideas) on ‘Education and Crisis’

Grant Banfield (FlindersUniversity, Adelaide, Australia)

Guy Senese (University
of NorthArizona, USA)

Hasan Huseyin Aksoy (Ankara
University, Turkey)

Kostas Skordoulis (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece)

As the neoliberal agenda for public education in North America intensifies, educational literature has increasingly
turned its attention toward understanding the logics and processes of neoliberal

privatization. Additionally, attention has been paid as to how
educators resist these processes and practices, both in the classroom and beyond.
This special issue seeks to deepen our understanding of the neoliberal privatization
of education by extending critical examinations to an underrepresented field of
cultural production: that of mainstream media reporting on education and the neoliberal
privatization of education, which many believe represents a new round of primitive
accumulation. By examining and analyzing the mainstream media’s relationship to
the processes in which neoliberal education ideologies are constructed, reflected,
and reified, articles in this issue will explicate the various ways in which the
mainstream media has helped facilitate and legitimate neoliberalism as universal
logic in reforming education, both locally and globally. Articles will also speak
to how critical educations have guided students in K-20 schools to understand the
mainstream media’s relationship to supporting the neoliberal takeover of schools.

We welcome conceptual, empirical, theoretical, pedagogical and
narrative articles that approach this topic from a variety of perspectives and frameworks.
Articles included in the special issue may ask and examine questions such as, but
not limited to:

* What shift has taken place in terms of who is positioned in
the media as educational “experts”?

* What are the differences between the way that various major
news networks, newspapers, and news magazines talk about educational privatization?

* How are Teach For America and Teach For All being propelled
by media coverage?

* What are the variations in media coverage of the neoliberal
agenda for education?

* What are the alternatives and prospects for challenges to the
mainstream media?

* How has ALEC impacted school reform policies and practices
on the state level and to what extent has the media covered it?

* How have critical educators positioned their students to understand
the mainstream media’s role in supporting the corporate agenda for schooling?

Critical Education is an international peer-reviewed journal, which
seeks manuscripts that critically examine contemporary education contexts and practices.
Critical Education is interested in theoretical and empirical research as well as
articles that advance educational practices that challenge the existing state of
affairs in society, schools, and informal education.

An early expression of interest and a 250-500 word abstract is
preferred by December 31, 2013. Please address correspondence to drford@syr.edu and include "Critical Education"
in the subject line.

The conference is taking shape. The first call for papers is 3 December 2013; but
abstracts are already coming in. Click here to see the abstracts already accepted, and here for the symposia proposed so far. DPR is
democractic; and the conference reflects this, taking shape and developing its
agenda as colleagues discuss ideas and as proposals come in. We strongly
encourage you to get involved at this early stage by sending in proposals for
papers, workshops, posters, exhibition work or performance relating to the
issues around exchange and change. Help to shape the conference agenda.

Recently I asked colleagues what DPR meant to them. DPR
conferences have been held each year since 2002, a book series has widely
published conference themes and issues, for the last five years the journal Power and Education has extended the discussion, and
an international network is growing as DPR colleagues work together and share
ideas. What is this all about, and why does it matter? Here are some of the
answers colleagues gave me:

DPR
is a space for rebellious thinking and a master class in theory and
philosophy around contemporary culture and education

DPR
is a stimulating environment to be immersed in

DPR
is a seed bank – a nuclear bunker – where ideas, values, practices, things
that really matter can be kept safely alive until the sickness of
neoliberalism has gone by

DPR
is not elitist: it’s a good place to be for researchers and practitioners
new and old

DPR
is serious, but it’s extraordinarily friendly and invigorating.

Here is a quote from the flyer for DPR14: “DPR is
political because teaching, learning and research are political: social justice
requires that new understandings lead to action. DPR14 sets out to understand
and to share the huge diversity of insights that only a truly international
conference can bring together; to take courage, with a view to making things
change.”

The DPR website has been updated. We hope it will be easy
to use and a quick way to find out everything you need to know about the
conference, the venue, travel, accommodation, registration and fees. Further
information is being added regularly so please keep browsing the site.

Two news items:
1. Pat
Sikes has asked me to circulate information about the 2014 Qualitative
Book of the Year Award: Call for Nominations. (Deadline: November 15, 2013).
Click here to find out more.
2. Dorit
Kedar has sent information about the publication of her major project: The
Book of Inter-religious Peace in Word and Image. Click here to read more.

Please will you help to spread the word about the conference
by forwarding this Newsletter to colleagues, networks and institutions you
think may be interested. Please contact me if there is any further information you
would like, or to discuss a possible contribution to the conference.

With all best wishes
Jerome (Jerome Satterthwaite –
on behalf of the DPR Management Team)

STOP PRESS: Stefan Collini – author of What Are Universities For? (Penguin, 2012) has agreed to be a
keynote speaker. For a foretaste of his brilliant wit and comprehensive
understanding of contemporary Higher Education, read his Sold Out in the London Review of Books, 24 October 2013.

About Me

I am a Visiting Fellow in the College of Social Science at the University of Lincoln. I was previously a Visiting Scholar in the Department of Education at Anglia Ruskin University (2014-15). Prior to that, I was previously a Senior Lecturer in Education Studies at the University of Northampton. My interests are in Marxist educational theory, the future of the human and social time. The Rikowski family web site, The Flow of Ideas can be found at: http://www.flowideas.co.uk,
My Wordpress blog, 'All that is Solid for Glenn Rikowski' is at: http://rikowski.wordpress.com,
Glenn Rikowski @ Academia: http://independent.academia.edu/GlennRikowski
@ ResearchGate: http://www.researchgate.net/profile/Glenn_Rikowski